Effect of 8-Week Aquatic Training and Resistance Training on Plasma NT-4 Levels and NT-4 Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate effects of eight weeks of aquatic exercise and resistance training on plasma neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) levels and NT-4 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of women with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: Thirty women with MS were randomly assigned to a resistance-training group, an aquatic exercise group and a control group. After separating plasma and PBMCs from blood samples, level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression was measured after eight weeks of exercise via ELISA and Real-time PCR, respectively. Results: The level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression increased significantly following eight weeks of aquatic training and resistance training. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, both resistance training and aquatic exercise can increase the level of plasma NT-4 and NT-4 expression in female MS patients. It can be concluded that such trainings could have protective and positive effects on the nervous system of MS patients. Keywords: Exercise, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurotrophic Factors, Women.